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    Lysistrata
    Lysistrata
    Lysistrata
    Ebook83 pages1 hour

    Lysistrata

    By Aristophanes

    3.5/5

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    When the Peloponnesian War goes on too long, the women of Athens, led by the beautiful Lysistrata, take matters into their own hands, withholding their passion as a way to force their men to negotiate a peace treaty. But the women’s vow to deny their husbands and lovers does little to force peace, and instead ignites a battle between the sexes.

    Aristophanes’ Lysistrata was first performed in 411 B.C., and was one of the first comedies to explore sexual dynamics between men and women. The play continues to be performed in modern times.

    HarperTorch brings great works of non-fiction and the dramatic arts to life in digital format, upholding the highest standards in ebook production and celebrating reading in all its forms. Look for more titles in the HarperTorch collection to build your digital library.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperCollins
    Release dateSep 15, 2015
    ISBN9781443446440
    Author

    Aristophanes

    Often referred to as the father of comedy, Aristophanes was an ancient Greek comedic playwright who was active in ancient Athens during the fourth century BCE, both during and after the Peloponnesian War. His surviving plays collectively represent most of the extant examples of the genre known as Old Comedy and serve as a foundation for future dramatic comedy in Western dramatic literature. Aristophanes’ works are most notable for their political satire, and he often ridiculed public figures, including, most famously, Socrates, in his play The Clouds. Aristophanes is also recognized for his realistic representations of daily life in Athens, and his works provide an important source to understand the social reality of life in Ancient Greece. Aristophanes died sometime after 386 BCE of unknown causes.

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    Reviews for Lysistrata

    3.5/5

    19 ratings21 reviews

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    • 4/5
      First produced in 411 BCE in the midst of the Peloponnesian War, Aristophanes’s raunchy comedy depicts an end to the conflict when the women of both sides, led by the Athenian Lysistrata. Having persuaded the Spartan women that they both would act in solidarity, the women barricade themselves inside the Acropolis thus cutting off access to the treasury for the Athenians and their allies. But what really ends the war is their refusal to let their husbands have access to their bodies. They tease, flirt and dress seductively until the frustrated men, crippled by their own passions, surrender, and end the war.Alas, that history didn’t turn out as well for Athens as depicted in this play. They were defeated by Sparta and its allies seven years later ending the twenty-seven-year war.
    • 4/5
      A rollicking good story about a clever route to world peace. Puns and euphemisms galore.
    • 5/5
      I actually read an online version of this text provided by my teacher as part of my Introduction to Drama course, so this is not the same translation I'm writing about, but is the same work. While I cannot be sure about this exact translation, I do know that the play itself is an excellent example of ancient Greek comedy, and with a strong female lead to boot. If you are interested in drama at all, it is almost certainly a good idea to read some of the earliest examples, including this one. There are lots of good translations online, as well as in collections of dramas from ancient Greece and elsewhere, in addition to the stand-alone versions. In good translations, such as the one I was provided with, it is easy enough to read and follow so as not to be intimidating, so there's no reason not to give it a shot. As someone who has read many ancient Greek dramas from several different genres, it's certainly one that I highly recommend. One note that I would add is that the best humor in the play, the turns of phrase and such, seem to be especially prone to multiple different translations, some of which seem to get the humor across better than others. So, you may need to hunt around to find the version that suits you best, since it does add a great deal to the show once you find that "right" one for you.
    • 3/5
      Need the man in your life to do something and he won't? Lysistrata has a few pointer for you. She will have him bending to your will in no time.
    • 3/5
      The innuendo is hilarious.
    • 3/5
      The best part of this play is its premise. It is occasionally funny, but most of the humor falls flat in a modern context.
    • 4/5
      Lysistrate ist ein Werk voller sexueller Spannungen und voller Politik. Sogar soweit, dass die sexuellen Spannungen die Politik bestimmen. Und wer hätte gedacht, dass schon in der Antike die Frauen die Oberhand gewinnen?!
    • 4/5
      This play from ancient Greece still is an amusing look at male-female relations & has some slyly witty pokes at the causes of war. In the play, Athens is at war with Sparta. Lysistrata convinces women from both city-states that together they can bring peace by denying the men sex until the men agree to a peace treaty! And of course, it doesn't hurt that the women also seize control over the war treasury.
    • 3/5
      I want to read all of Aristophanes.
      Evidently the Victorians read the Greeks and that was their normal Literature so no reason why moi ought not to follow suit.
    • 3/5
      I liked the play well enough. I haven't read many Greek comedies so it was a nice shift. I was also impressed with Aristophanes because he was not writing about a myth which he could pull from. He pulled it all from his own imagination. And he was a young writer. I read somewhere that he was writing in his teens, which always receives props from me. However, I didn't like the Henderson's translation. (For that matter neither did my English teacher). I didn't think it was very authentic and sometimes it took away from what could have been a more serious image. The play is fun but there are also serious issues portrayed as well. Someday I will have to go read another translation of this because the play itself is worth reading.
    • 4/5
      This comedy, originally written in 411 BC, was banned in 1967 in Greece because of its anti-war message. This modern translation by Douglass Parker breathes new life into the story and makes it accessible for all audiences. The women in Greece decide that they are tired of their men always being away fighting the Peloponnesian War. One woman, Lysistrata, comes up with a brilliant idea and recruits the rest of the women to take part in her plan. They decide as a group to withhold sex from the men until they make peace. They lock themselves in the Acropolis and resist all temptation to give in to their husband’s demands. I loved the fact that the women don’t deny their own sexual desires and they have to fight both their urges and their husbands’ desires to make the plan work. One of the funniest scenes includes a woman desperate to go back home to her husband. She announces she much leave and find a midwife because she’s about to deliver her baby… even though she wasn’t pregnant the day before. The women quickly call her on it and make her remove the metal helmet from under her dress where it was being smuggled to make her look pregnant. BOTTOM LINE: The humor definitely plays better on the stage than the page, but I’ve found that to be true with all comedic plays. The premise is clever and fun and though it may be a bit silly, the message of encouraging peace is a good one.  
    • 5/5
      I love this! For the first time a modish modern translation works--for about two pages it's jarring for characters in Aristophanes to call each other "baby" and whatnot, and then you're like, oh yeah, this is the only way it could have been. The only way to get across the rollicking hilarity. I esteem a play that can treat love like war and put on a gay show for Athenians desperate for something to cheer about, and still raise spirits two thousand years later. And yeah, yeah, women and men, and women have to be the men because there are no real men that can end the war, and feminist readings and pacifism v. good and bad wars, I get all that. But I don't have anything profound to say about it really--just that I loved every moment and want to see it performed super bad. "It's not the heat, it's the tumidity." Good lord.
    • 5/5
      This short, comical play written in Ancient Greece is one of the first comedies ever written. I would advise seeing the play in accompaniment to reading it, because it is much funnier if you are able to visualize it.The play is basically about women who use the only power they possess in Ancient times - their beauty and sexuality, to dominate men. Until their husbands agree to make peace and end the war in their country, the women decide to deny their husbands sex.It is a witty, funny play that is quite brief and easy to read as well.
    • 4/5
      A humorus tale of how the women of the Greek world unite to try and stop the war that is keeping their husbands away. I'm very glad that I read this, I neve realized that the humor they used would still be fitting for today's society. While some of the context was difficult to understand, such as the references to other writers and historical events, the footnotes provided in the version I read were helpful enough to help me move past it.4/5
    • 1/5
      I hated it. Mandatory read for college. Also hated the movie which I forced my husband (then boyfriend) to attend with me at the Walnut Street Theatre in Philadelphia. Ughhhh... what a waste, I did not enjoy either book or play(movie).
    • 2/5
      The basic plot behind this book is pretty well known. The Greek women get tired of war and decide force a peace treaty. Their weapon of choice is sex - they will withhold intimacy from their men until the men agree to call off the war.As might be expected, the dialogue is pretty full of innuendo and at time explicit reference to sex. There are lots of jokes about it. I'm not sure how this would be staged in today's world.I was fine with that. What bothered me was the translation. For instance, apparently the Spartans had an accent that marked them out from the Athenians. The translator chose to interpret that as a country hick accent. Then there was the attempt to make the dialogue modern and hip, which is of course, at least 20 years out of date.Not a bad play, although the whole idea shouldn't have taken as long as it did to stage. One act would have been enough. But if you want to read it, find a different translation. This one was done by William Arrowsmith and it is really jarring to read.
    • 1/5
      Just the worst translation of anything I've ever read.Let's take a classic and turn it into a horrible, late 60's slang-ridden monstrosity. Who thought this was a good idea? I am shocked that the term "jive turkey" didn't make an appearance.The Torah as read in Klingon is less painful.
    • 5/5
      This book is skech illustrated by Pablo Picasso. A beautifull edition.
    • 4/5
      I never thought I would laugh out loud to an Ancient Greek play, but I guess Lysistrata proves that some [edited] jokes are funny in any era. Clever, a fascinating look at ancient feminism, and witty this play was a quick and very well worth it read, even if the only premise for it is a bunch of crude sex jokes. My only major complaint is that in the translation I read (Sutherland's in Wadworth's) he tried to contemporize it by giving the Spartans almost unreadable Southern drawls and the women modern clothes. It didn't work. Aristophenes writing, however, clearly shines through.
    • 3/5
      The story is great -- if you have an opportunity to see it performed, GO! Men refuse to stop making war, so women refuse to sleep with them. Guess which side can hold out longer?
    • 4/5
      A hysterical play about how women from 2 cities decide to end their husbands' war by withholding sex till the war ends.

    Book preview

    Lysistrata - Aristophanes

    ebook_cover_placeholder.jpg

    Lysistrata

    Aristophanes

    Translated into Familiar Blank Verse with Notes and Preliminary Observations by C. A. Wheelwright, M. A.

    torch-logo.jpg

    CONTENTS

    Dramatis Personae

    Preliminary Observations upon The Lysistrata

    Act I

    Act II

    Act III

    About the Author

    About the Series

    Copyright

    About the Publisher

    Dramatis Personae

    Lysistrata, wife of one of the principal Athenian magistrates

    Calonice

    Myrrhine

    Lampito

    Chorus of Old Men

    Chorus of Old Women

    Stratyllis

    A Magistrate

    Certain Women

    Cinesias

    A Child

    Manes, A Domestic

    Herald of the Lacedaemonians

    Ambassadors of the Lacedemonians

    Polycharides

    Some Market People

    A Servant

    An Athenian

    Certain Mutes

    The scene lies in the citadel of Athens.

    Preliminary Observations upon The Lysistrata

    This comedy was acted in the twenty-first year of the Peloponnesian War, and first of the XCII Olympiad, under the Archon Callias, who succeeded Cleocritus, at the Lenean feasts.

    The Lysistrata bears so evil a character that we must make but fugitive mention of it, like persons passing over hot embers. The women, according to the poet’s invention, have taken it into their heads, by a severe resolution, to compel their husbands to make peace. Under the guidance of their clever chieftain they organize a conspiracy for this end through all Greece, and at the same time get possession, in Athens, of the fortified Acropolis. The terrible plight into which the husbands are reduced by this separation occasions the most ridiculous scenes; ambassadors come from both the belligerent parties, and the peace is concluded with the greatest dispatch, under the direction of the clever Lysistrata.—In spite of all the bold indecencies which the play contains, its purpose, divested of these, is, on the whole, very innocent; the longing for the pleasures of domestic life, which were so often interrupted by the absence of the men, is to put an end to this unhappy war, which was ruining all Greece. The honest coarseness of the Lacedaemonians, in particular, is inimitably well portrayed.

    Act I

    Scene I

    [Enter LYSISTRATA.]

    LYSISTRATA

    But if to Bacchus’ orgies any one [1]

    Had call’d the women, or to Pan’s or Colias’,

    Or Genetyllus’, they had ne’er been able

    To come again back for the tympanums;

    But now no other woman’s to be seen

    Except my neighbour here who’s coming forth.

    O Calonice, hail—

    [Enter CALONICE.]

    CALONICE

    And hail to thee,

    Lysistrata.—What is’t that troubles thee?

    Wear not, O child, this downcast countenance.

    For to contract thy brow becomes thee not.

    LYSISTRATA

    But my heart burns with rage, O Calonice

    And greatly for us women am I griev’d,

    That by the men we are accounted all

    To be perverse—

    CALONICE

    And so we are, by Jove.

    LYSISTRATA

    When ’twas decreed they should assemble here,

    To hold a council on no trifling matter,

    They sleep and come not—

    CALONICE

    But, O dearest friend,

    They soon will come—’Tis difficult for women

    To go abroad—for one of us awaits

    Her husband’s will, one rouses her domestic,

    One puts her child to bed, another laves,

    Another puts the food into its mouth.

    LYSISTRATA

    But there are other things more worth their pains.

    CALONICE

    Then for what cause, O dear Lysistrata,

    Us women have you summon’d—what’s the business?

    Of what dimensions?

    LYSISTRATA

    Great.

    CALONICE

    And thick withal?

    LYSISTRATA

    And thick, by Jove.

    CALONICE

    Why come we not all then?

    LYSISTRATA

    ’Tis not the way—for soon we could have come

    Together—but there is a work by me

    Plann’d and revolv’d through

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